Rachel Buchanan examines how legal teams should support their authorities in delivering tailored services at a time of restrained resources.
Member development trainer Bethan Evans relives her experiences of switching from face-to-face to online training during lockdown and looks at how they may affect the physical/virtual divide post-pandemic.
What does it take to set up a legal services alternative business structure? Hilary Irving of North Yorkshire County Council outlines the risks and rewards.
A commitment to public service and a willingness to move for the right opportunity have seen Suki Binjal, President of LLG, work for public bodies across England. Philip Hoult finds out what she considers to be the key challenges for local government lawyers.
Austerity has left authorities with a severe shortage of senior lawyers while a dearth of trainees and NQs is failing to swell the junior ranks. Neasa MacErlean assesses what can be done to close the gap.
One of the great privileges of working with local authorities to deliver apprenticeships is observing the different approaches legal departments take to deploying and developing apprentice staff, writes Noel Inge.
As commercialisation grows, Azhar Ghose outlines the increasing importance of the Company Secretary role within local authorities and offers some tips on how it can be performed.
Tiffany Cloynes and Gillian Duckworth outline the benefits of the partnership between Sheffield City Council and law firm Geldards for the public and private sector alike.
Offering a one-size-fits-all approach will inevitably undermine the relationships we have with our clients, writes Geoff Wild.
Chris Guy, a former local authority head of legal, sets out how he tried to overcome his weaknesses.
How should you go about securing the position of head of legal at a local authority? Chris Guy shares some thoughts.
Changes to the tax regime for locum lawyers threaten to disrupt the supply of a vital source of staff for local authority legal departments, writes Neasa McErlean. Hundreds of locum lawyers are facing the prospect of 30% falls in their take-home pay as many…
In the face of relentless pressure on local authority budgets, heads of legal services are required to contribute savings to balance the budget, whilst at the same time being expected to provide advice on increasingly complex and often unfamiliar legal…
Derek Bedlow speaks to Invicta Law’s chief executive Geoff Wild to hear his plans for the local authority-owned ABS launched in June by Kent County Council Invicta Law – the Alternative Business Structure (ABS) spun off from Kent County Council’s legal…
What will make your clients relish the opportunity to work with you again: content or delivery? Geoff Wild considers the issues.
“Perception is reality, but it’s the clients' perceptions that we have to address, not our own” - Read Geoff Wild's latest blog.
Gwendoline Davies, Andrew Northage and Robert Starr analyse the latest case to further limit legal professional privilege.
Service standards could have the effect of lowering expectations of excellence when we should be raising them instead, writes Geoff Wild.
Does having a proper regard for ensuring the right degree of independence make you appear aloof, arrogant and uncaring? Geoff Wild reports.
In the first in a series of articles, Geoff Wild considers how clients assess their lawyers.
Jayne Francis-Ward, head of EMLawShare, sets out the highlights from the legal services consortium's fifth conference.